Paris

My prior Beauty Crawl, which is modeled after a pub crawl, focused on the areas surrounding the two major department stores near L’Opera Garnier and down toward Le Louvre. Today, I’ll discuss another option that centers on Le Bon Marche located in Paris’ 7th Androssiment. I did an earlier version of this walk a few years ago. This is an update with many more photographs.

You’ll notice that my map starts with two cafes in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area. Both are lovely and offer a wonderful start to your shopping day. Les Deux Magots was once a rendezvous points for writers and artists, including Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, Pablo Picasso, and James Joyce.

I began noticing Erborian Paris-Seoul Korean Skin Care Therapy both at Sephora, and numerous Parisian beauty stores a few years ago . According to Erborian, According to the line, its laboratory in Seoul formulates gentle, effective skincare that are based on Asian beauty rituals.

Erborian continuously innovates by offering surprising, unprecedented, ground-breaking products, vehicles for “intelligent beauty”. Our exclusive formulas, developed by our laboratory based in Seoul, use the most advanced technologies, at the cutting edge of the cosmetic industry. These intriguing formulas rapidly deliver active ingredients, for ultimate benefits. Erborian combines the most sophisticated technologies with high-quality ingredients derived from Korean herbs, to create innovative and exclusive formulas that reveal luminosity, radiance and younger-looking skin. Inspired by ancient Korean traditions, Korean herbs have a dual advantage: they are incredibly effective as they are exceedingly pure, but they are also very gentle and very well tolerated.

I stopped by the Erborian Parisian Boutique on the Avenue de L’Opera just near the Opera Garnier. This line is based on three fundamental premises: Detox, Boost and Finish…Because Erborian’s offerings at many local US stores are rather small in size, I took numerous photographs in the boutique so that you can get a better sense of their full range of products.

BHV/ Marais is located on Paris’ Rue de Rivoli just across from the Hotel de Ville, and has a very different feel from many upscale, large-city department stores. BHV (originally, “Bazar de L’Hotel de Ville”) may feel like a step back in time for U.S. visitors. Generally, BHV is set up to appeal to the middle-class shopper (a bit more like Macy’s/Dillards, and less Saks Fifth Avenue). That statement isn’t quite accurate, like many French things there is something lost in translation. Still, the BHV retains departments including stationary, notebooks, pencils and school supplies, pet goods, and notions (notions?? yes, notions). These have long vanished from U.S. department stores. I think you can actually buy hardware and knitting supplies there (I’ve seen them in the past). BHV is the store memorialized by The New York Times fashion photographer and genius Bill Cunningham, when he mentioned in his biopic that this very store is the source of his blue work jackets.

The Marais is one of my favorite neighborhoods. It has an eclectic mix of art museums, falafel street food, shops and cafes that seem very down-to-earth, at least as that term can be applied to anywhere in Paris. Occupying several buildings (one is dedicated just to menswear), BHV/Marais is located just south of the Pompidou Center, north of Seine.

French line Sephora has an enormous Champs Eylsee location. Some things have changed since I did a previous trip report in 2010 here. Yet still, this Sephora is the most impressive in size, depth and selection in Paris, and beauty lovers will want to allow at least an hour. Of course, there are numerous other Sephora’s sprinkled throughout the City of Light, but this one is centrally located and has the largest selection. The front area still has a “featured brand” area that is different every time that I’ve visited (this time, Hermes). Also near the front door is “grab and go” setup of items for quick Parisian-themed gifts, including $50 Hermes fragrance samplers and other delights.

Today I found myself just near City Pharma at 26 Rue Four, 75006, Paris. Beauty lovers may recall that this is the destination recommended by the lovely Lisa Eldridge in her video describing her favorite French skincare. The last time that I ventured near City Pharma, it had just been filled with two (!) busloads of French shoppers. European shops are not famed for their generous aisles, and the crowd made it impossible to browse. However, today the streets nearby looked relatively quiet, and so I braved through the doorway to see what I could find. Please come with me so you can see it too.

Have you ever heard of a “pub crawl”? Or a “food crawl”? If you haven’t, these are little excursions where one can go from place to place, enjoying just a little bit from each, whether it’s drinking, eating, or what have you. I thought it might be fun to put together one possible Parisian beauty crawl in case that you find yourself in the City of Light with some spare time on your hands. This is one of several possibilities.

When I was packing for a few weeks in Paris, I was panicked over which skin care to bring. Travel can be hard on my skin–the long, dehydrating plane trip, time in the sun, new foods, and unpredictability. I delayed packing my skincare products until the very last minute, absolutely unable to decide what to bring. I tweeted for help, and was answered with some very good, practical advice from one of my favorite skincare experts, at The Black Panties. She suggested one cleanser, two toners, two serums, and two moisturizers (and, of course, sunscreen). To anyone but a beauty lover, the is probably enough skin care for a year. For me, this seems a sensible amount.

One of the items I chose was Perricone MD Cold Plasma ($155/ 1 oz.). I applied this every night for the full three weeks, and was really impressed. My pores looked better, my skin seemed plumper, more moisturized, and it looked younger and more refreshed. My skin glowed every morning after I removed it.

When I was very young and my skin was great, I had no need of anything like Perricone MD Cold Plasma. If your skin is perfect, you won’t need it either. But if you do wish your skin had more life, more firmness, and more glow, it is definitely worth a good look.

Over the next few days, I’ll be busy packing for the long flight home. I had a few thoughts about some products before I leave:

First, on my flight over Air France had full bottles of Clarins One Step Facial Cleanser ($32.50/6.7 fl. oz.) in the restroom. In the blur of the overnight flight, it felt nice to have a high end beauty product available. I bought one after I arrived. According to Clarins, the product is a toner and cleanser in one. It’s intended to remove everything with no need to rinse.

This cleanser is very, very gentle. It does remove makeup and mascara. However, I’d ignore the “no need to rinse” advise. It left my skin feeling oily, so I rinsed most of the time. When I didn’t rinse, I had a few clogged pores the next day. Unlike my DDF 10% Glycolic Toner, this Clarins doesn’t appear to be exfoliating. I probably should have gone with the Toning Lotion with Iris, made for oily skin, instead.

Second, Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk ($18/3.2 oz (150 ml)) quickly became my best-loved dry shampoo. The scent is the lightest and most pleasant of any dry shampoo that I’ve tried. It does come out a bit white, but brushes away neatly without a trace.

Best of all, Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo ($18/3.2 oz.) left my hair with plenty of body, life, and manageability. It had a nice shine, looked polished, and took care of any oilies. Wonderful. This is available in the U.S. from several sources. The only drawback is that I seemed to go through it a little more quickly than some others that I’ve tried. Overall, I believe I’ve found my favorite–thank you to all of the commenters who suggested it!

Third, in my quest for a multicultural beauty experiment, I went to Guerlain’s main store on the Champs Elysee to find a perfect red lipstick. My advice to everyone traveling to another country (or even region) is to ask for local makeup advice. You will be surprised to find how different makeup artists and sales associates “see” you through their eyes. I always learn something.

Those familiar with the Guerlain Champs Elysee store will note that, on the left, Guerlain has opened up a little pop-up store to celebrate Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire, as well as a few other perfume and beauty products. It’s more inviting than the more formal main store–it’s street level so you can just wander in. (As is typical of many French boutiques, the door guard told me not to take pictures inside.).

For this experiment, I went into the main store. I found a delightful (and patient) Guerlain expert to help me. After several tries and swatches, we decided that Guerlain Rouge G Gala (#21) was my perfect red (swatched here by Temptalia). This is much more vibrant and bright than I typically wear, but why not? When in Paris….

Anyway, thank you for indulging me in my Parisian adventures over the past few weeks. Hopefully I’ll be back next week with some reviews of some Fall 2012 collections. See you then!